Video games are keeping me sane during the coronavirus pandemic – Reader’s Feature

A reader who still has to travel into work every day explains why playing single-player video games helps him feel better about himself.

I see a lot of talk at the moment about how people are playing more video games than ever, which makes total sense given most people are stuck inside. But I’m not. I work at a supermarket and my job has suddenly gone from being something most people never think about to being a ‘key worker’. In its way it’s satisfying, because you know you’re doing good and being useful, but it’s also nerve-wracking because obviously I don’t want to get coronavirus or give it to my family.

If anything, I’m getting too much social contact at the moment, so what I love to do when all is quiet is just zone out with a good single-player game. I’m playing The Witcher 3 at the moment, which somehow I never got round to at the time, and I’m loving it. Escape to a fantasy world where you can make a difference, choose to be the good guy or not, and just hang out with interesting people and fight monsters. Perfection.

People always talk down about video games, they do it even now when they’re becoming a social lifeline to some people stuck inside, but not only is there great skill in making them but they are great for someone, like me, that wants to escape away from it all for a few hours. Some complain they’re too expensive but apparently it’s 50 hours to beat The Witcher 3 on its own and I bought the whole thing plus its DLC for £15!

Considering I’m never going in a cinema again at this rate, because of the virus, and how much that costs anyway, I’d say that was a pretty good deal.

Finding the time to play games is the biggest problem, which is why it’s taken so long to get round to this one, but other than that I find them the perfect way to unwind and feel like I’m totally in control of a situation. That might sound a bit weird to people that don’t play them often but even if it’s a hard game and you’re not doing well, in something like Dark Souls, the feeling that you can gradually work things out and finally conquer the game is a real rush.

Most video games are meant to be beaten and getting to that point is very satisfying, the longer the game is the more satisfaction too.

For that reason, I don’t generally play multiplayer, because I’m not that great at it. But it’s also because there’s no ending, no goal to aim for. No matter what’s going on with your real life sitting down to beat a game is something you know you can do with the right attitude and perseverance. It’s not down to luck, not overall, it’s down to you.

For me that really helps after a bad day, or week or whatever, and is the main reason I’ve never ‘grown out’ of video games. They make me feel better about myself and my world. And that’s never been more important than right now.

By reader Kendle

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

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